Man Stumbles Upon A Ridiculous Time Capsule From The 1940s Tucked Away In His Own Attic

Old houses can be fascinating places. Sure, as a homeowner they can be a struggle to maintain and often require renovations, but if you’re willing to put in the work, buying historical property tends to be a valuable investment. Sometimes you can get even more of a payout than you bargained for!

One man from Cleveland, Ohio, knew just how tough, but rewarding, owning such a place could be when he finally inherited a family home that’s been passed down for generations. Though familiar, he soon discovered that the house still had some extraordinary secrets hiding inside…

Remodeling older homes can reveal all sorts of surprises – usually not for the better. From asbestos removal to mold, these projects can be filled with many unforeseen challenges.

When a Cleveland resident finally decided to remodel his basement, he knew that there could be a lot of unexpected variables to deal with. However, that didn’t stop him from trying to make his project a reality.

The 35-year-old lived in a very old home, passed down in his family for generations. He was well into the remodeling stages when he stumbled upon something quite unusual…

The walls were covered with strange writing and drawings that he had somehow never noticed before. Clearly, someone had spent a lot of time here as they certainly left their mark behind!

At first, the man didn’t think much of it, especially since while growing up all the kids used to love “tagging” walls. After shrugging it off, however, he found something else while taking apart the ceiling…

Hidden inside of the covered ceiling panel was something totally unexpected: a suitcase! He decided to document his findings and snapped photos to post online throughout his discovery…

Before he took another step, he decided to let his wife know what he had found – she was fascinated! They went back down to the basement to remove the luggage from the ceiling and find out what was inside.

Though the suitcase wasn’t particularly heavy, it didn’t make him any less curious about what it could be hiding. Here, he used a toy banana toothbrush for infants to show its unique size.

The case was made almost entirely of metal and was secured with an old rope. After he took some more photos of the suitcase, he knew that it was time. He cracked it open and was surprised to find a few neatly wrapped packages…

Trying to contain his excitement, he went through the contents slowly and carefully, even taking inventory of each item uncovered. The bottom of the box was lined with old newspapers. One of them went as far back as March 1951!

As for the other packages? Well… the man did his best to keep his hopes in check. He didn’t want to let the elaborate fantasies of what could be inside deter him from the excitement of the discovery itself.

Finally, he opened up the first package and with one peek, his visions actually came true! He showed what he estimated to be $1,000 worth of $20 bills to his wife who was standing by.

The couple couldn’t believe their luck… The next package was stuffed with about $5,000 worth of $50 bills! They expected to maybe find something worth money, but not this much actual cash.

That’s right, the money just kept pouring in. Inside of their own home was a box full of cash just sitting in their basement. Who knew how long it had been there? The last package contained perhaps the best treasure of all…

The last package contained $100 bills, a gold certificate, and star notes (currency that has been misprinted) that never circulated. It was a historian’s dream and a plucky treasure hunter’s Mother lode!

The man and his wife knew they were in over their heads, so they called a lawyer right away to have the box appraised and learn about how the law could impact their find.

The man could have taken the money and claimed it as his own, but he wanted to be responsible. He realized that the money may not legally belong to him, and he didn’t want to end up on the wrong side of things.

In the meantime, this man went back to remodeling his basement, where he discovered yet another box – stuffed with about $10,000!

The couple couldn’t believe it, and the lawyer had some news that would make all of these discoveries even more exciting. It was concluded that the money—all $45,000 of it—indeed belonged to the man and his wife.

The money was an amazing godsend to the couple, who used the cash to pay for their mortgage, with the intention of buying a new one in a more rural area. When this man started remodeling his basement he expected that it was going to cost him a small fortune, but it wound up earning him one instead!

What an incredible discovery. Just imagine what kind of things you can find with just a little bit of exploration and elbow grease!